June 5, 2021 · from Lesley’s original CaringBridge journal
Well, I clearly was overly ambitious with everything I tried to accomplish in May, pre-surgery because I am woefully behind in writing, charity projects, and some other things. BUT, we managed to pull off four birthdays, two pretty awesome cake creations, and a good bit of preparations for surgery this past Tuesday.
Surgery went well and as planned with no surprises. I am finally rid of those horrid expanders!!! Hallelujah!!! Even though I am extremely sore from surgery, I feel super relieved to have that constant pressure that has been there for two years now gone. My surgeon said that the condition of my skin on the left side (the cancery/radiated side) was better than she expected but still very thin and delicate. The next three weeks are critical to healing. I have been instructed that my job is to take it easy and not to move my left arm or anything else that could pull on my incision for that matter. This is not an easy task and I am not the best patitent for this, but I am trying!
If there was ever a problem with too much help, I may have it. For a house full of guys, they are pretty great caretakers. Gus is the leader of the pack. When I got home from the hospital on Wednesday he gave me the following things to help me feel better: a piece of watermellon gum, a leftover chip from his Mexican food the night before, one of his Kit Kat halves “that [he] had not taken a bite off of yet,” and one of his brand new stuffed Paw Patrol toys to cuddle with. He is the first one in here when I call for help and will elbow everyone else out of the way. He informed me that if I needed help to call him, not my mom, because “I am awesome at this!” – he clarified that I couldn’t call him on the phone though, I would just have to holler for him. Needless to say, he has kept us all in stitches. It does hurt to laugh right now though, so I don’t know how helpful that actually is.
So far though, out of my long list of surgeries, this one has been the best I feel like I’ve done post-op. I haven’t had to take hardly any pain medicine and have been up walking around a lot, which is good. The hardest part is going to be taking it easy and keeping my left arm still. I had grand plans of watching copious amounts of Netflix, but someone in our house used up all the internet for the month and it doesn’t reset till the 20th… I told the boys they would have to just come entertain me now – it’s either that or I play a lot of solitaire on my phone. Anywho, if that is my biggest problem I think I am doing alright. Until next time, here are the prayer requests I have – I have been told my bullet points are helpful, so I will keep them up:
- pray for my left side to heal up stupendously – no hiccups for that delicate skin
- pray for the lymphedema in my left arm to clear up (I can’t wear my sleeve right now)
- pray for the rest of my body, the bruising, the overall healing
- pray for all of us to be patient with one another – we all tend to get tired of this sick mamma business
thank you all for your prayers, we really appreciate them.
Love,
Lesley and crew
Comments from CaringBridge
Nancy Sullivan — 6/5/21
Prayers continue!
Edwina Williams — 6/5/21
Prayers
Cancermamma 